Abc-disney Anthology Could Be Ratings Force

ABC and Walt Disney Productions have confirmed the midseason arrival of a new prime-time Disney anthology.

The Disney Sunday Movie - which ABC says will be ``wide-ranging, including comedy, drama, action-adventure and animation`` - will premiere in February.

The specific debut date and time slot were not announced. It`s all but certain, however, that the mix of one- and two-hour movies - ``expressly for family entertainment,`` according to ABC - will take over Ripley`s Believe It or Not`s Sunday, 7-8 p.m. time period and occasionally spill over into the 8-9 p.m. slot.

The Federal Communications Commission allows networks to schedule the 7-8 p.m. time period on Sunday only if the programs are for children or in the news-public affairs sphere. Because CBS` formidable 60 Minutes makes news competitors a bad risk - as the ratings disaster of NBC`s First Camera most recently proved - programming aimed at youngsters and their parents is the only option ABC and NBC have Sundays at 7.

If ABC does put the The Disney Sunday Movie in that time period, the network will be conceding the older-adult audience to CBS while taking dead aim on NBC`s youth-oriented sitcoms, Punky Brewster and Silver Spoons.

ABC, which had its first smash hit 30 years ago with Disneyland, could well be on the verge of another master stroke by reviving the Disney anthology.

The original Disney series disappeared from network TV in 1982 after a steady decline in viewership that usually is attributed to excessively recycled material and lackluster new productions. Now, the family resurgence that is inarguably a factor in the success of NBC`s The Cosby Show could well make The Disney Sunday Movie a ratings force, too.